A digital download kiosk enables a customer to select, pay for, and then download multi-media content (such as a movie, an audio file, or a video game) to a portable storage device (such as a non-volatile memory card). Once the multi-media content has been downloaded, the portable storage device can be inserted into a suitable reader coupled to a playback device (such as a computer or a television) to allow the customer to view the downloaded multi-media content either indefinitely (if the customer bought the content) or for a limited time period (if the customer rented the content).
Multi-media content is protected by digital rights management (DRM) protection techniques to prevent unauthorized copying thereof and to authorize playing of the content for a time period (which is either indefinite, if purchased; or limited, if rented).
One popular type of multi-media content available at a kiosk is a movie (sometimes referred to as a cinematographic film, or a motion picture). Each movie file is comparatively large (typically at least two Gigabytes per movie for standard resolution, and much more for high resolution).
Customers like to be able to choose from a large range of movies when using a digital download kiosk. This means that it is desirable to be able to access a large catalogue of movies (and potentially other multi-media content). It is not currently practical to store a large number of different movies in a kiosk, so digital download kiosks are typically connected to a content server, which is typically co-located in the same retail outlet as the digital download kiosk. The content server is typically connected by a high bandwidth communications channel (such as T1 or ADSL connection) to a remote authorization and master content database. The movies on the content server can then be updated, and managed from the master content server. The content server transfers files via a high speed LAN or wireless connection to the kiosk in response to a customer's selection.
This arrangement has the disadvantage that the kiosk owner or operator has to pay for expensive, high bandwidth, WAN communication lines. Furthermore, the retailer must also house the content server in its premises (using costly real estate) to provide sufficient multi-media content for the kiosk to be able to attract customers. Bulk new movie releases are typically added by a service engineer visiting the retail location and uploading the new releases to the content server using a portable hard disk drive. This is costly, time-consuming, and can lead to failures because of damage to the electro-mechanical components within the portable hard disk drive.